Ice Cube
by Brightness Davar
Summary: Anna wants to swim. Elsa doesn't cause who needs water to cool of when you're the friggin Snow Queen? But that won't stop our dear Princess from trying now, will it?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm not dead! Heh, my sincerest apologies to those who follow me but I was kinda very busy.**

 **Things happened and life choices were made and yeah...it was stressful. But hopefully I'll be back now to write again. I've missed it. So much so i went back and reread some stories that I had started but never really finished. Here's one.**

 **I hope you enjoy it :)**

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"Why is it that Arendelle is either frozen in place or melting from the Summer sun? What is this world coming to?!"

Anna trudged down the hall dressed in as short a dress as propriety demanded of a Princess, grumbling all the while. If it was up to the redhead, she would be confined to the cooling waters of Lake Freyja or gallivanting in the thinnest chemise she owned when she was not in said water. The only reason she was even within a castle - that seemed either to be an oven or an icebox - was because her twins had _refused_ to go swimming if their Aunty Elsa wouldn't join them. And by refused, she means they threw a collective tantrum that would've put her younger feisty self to shame.

Being as hot as it was that normal brain functionality slowed down, Anna and Kristoff had decided that they would indulge their children's demands. But just this one time. And so, Anna made her way to her sister's study while Kristoff and the twins prepared the sled with everything that they would need for a day trip to the lake. By the time the Queen's study came into view at the end of the hall, she was sweaty, sticky, and irritable. Determined to put an end to her overheating body, Anna planned on barging into her sister's study and haul her out by her cape if she had to. In the past, Elsa had straight up refused to come with them whenever it had been suggested to swim. It's been seven years since the Thaw and she still didn't know how to convince her. It's not for lack of trying on Anna's part. Elsa could refuse just as stubbornly as Anders, her son, could. In fact she thinks that's where he learnt it in the first place. Anna was not stubborn at all and way too flexible to have taught him that, right? Right.

"She better not put up a fight…" Anna muttered before she threw open the doors with a loud bang.

A wall of cold air slammed straight into her and rushed down the hall behind her, making her shiver and cool her annoyance instantaneously.

"Hello to you too, dear sister." Elsa's smooth voice drifted with her breeze, right before Anna's annoyance flared to life again.

"Why didn't you tell me you made an ice locker?" she demanded, stepping all the way in to glare at her sister. "I've been practically melting my butt off the whole day, and it's not even 9 in the morning yet!"

Elsa cocked a perfect eyebrow in response.

Anna took a breath to calm herself, "Sorry…"

"It's alright. You do get irritable when it's so hot out." She smirked and put her quill in its holder, giving the redhead all her attention, "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Anna had to keep from blurting out that she needed Elsa to come swimming because Anders and Kristen refused to do so without her. She needed to play this right before she brought her kids out as a bargaining chip. It used to be that Elsa could never refuse her sister…but now she could _not_ , for the life of her, refuse the twins one single thing, they had all but taken Anna's place in that category.

"Oh, yeah, uhm," she bit her lip, "we're going swimming and I thought you'd like to join us?"

"Is that so?" she cocked her eyebrow again.

"Yes. You need a break" she gestured to the stacks of paper on her desk.

"This is my normal work load – actually," she gazed at the papers with a casual air of indifference, "there isn't that much for me to do today, but I'd like to do as much as I can to free up other days where I know I will have too much to do then."

"That's reasonable…"Anna grumbled, remembering days when Elsa barely stayed afloat in all her work. "But it's sooooo hot out today. And…and only a dip in the lake will chase this heat away!"

"Am I not the Queen of the ice and snow?" she asked her sister with a slight head tilt, "so why, pray tell, would I leave my 'ice locker' to go to a lake to cool myself down and do something I cannot even do."

Ugh, she hated when Elsa used her logic against her.

"The offer still stands for me to teach you how to swim, you know." She crossed her arms, unwilling to let her sister slip out of her grasp. Anna needed to swim. She was going to go swimming, Odin help her.

"You didn't answer my question." Elsa mimicked her sister's determined body language and raised a smirk on her lips. There's no way on Earth that Anna was going to persuade her to –

"The children want you to." The Queen's smirk fell off her face only to appear on her sister's.

"That's a low blow."

"Oh come _on_ , Elsa!" she stomped to her desk much like she was throwing a tantrum of her own. "They _refuse_ to go anywhere without their _Aunty_."

"Y-you're their mother," she argued weakly; "you can make them do anything."

Anna heard the waver in her voice and she _knew_ Elsa's determination was crumbling. All she had to do now is lay it on as thick as she could. And then they could go swimming. Whoop!

"I can, but I don't want to today. It's waaay too hot to even think straight." Anna anchored her hip on the side of her sister's desk, "Besides it would mean the _world_ to Anders if his Aunty could see him swim." She beamed, an idea forming that will ensure that Elsa would come with them "They both took to the water so quickly, you should see them! Kristoff's already teaching Anders tricks."

" _Tricks_?"

"Yup, the newest one is teaching him how to do a backflip into the water and Kristen–"

"The newest…you mean there were others before…?" Elsa suddenly stood up from her desk, chair scraping in protest. "And you allow it for _both_ of them? They're only _five_!"

"Why wouldn't I?" Anna asked as casually as she could, trying to hide her amusement. Elsa always got worked up about the various 'tricks' Kristoff teaches them. The twins are perfectly safe in their father's capable hands. Anna trusted him. Elsa did too, but sometimes she could be a tad overprotective.

"Kristen could jump into shallow water, that's why!" she moved passed her sister and started to pace. "And Anders…"

Anna was so used to her sister's protective behaviour, she only found it amusing. She knew Elsa meant no offence and didn't regard them as irresponsible parents. Elsa had actually told Anna not to fret so much when they were babies, but as soon as they could walk, something had flipped a switch in her big sister.

"He could break his little neck doing Odin knows what –" she paced in frantic worry " – or _she_ could jump in when Kristoff or you aren't looking and be in too deep. A current can take them _both_ out to the middle of – alright," she turned to face her sister, "I'm coming."

"Great!" She grabbed her sister by her elbow and dragged her out of the study, "Let's go!"

"Anna, wait!" Elsa had to grab her dress to keep from tripping on it in Anna's haste. " _Wait!_ "

"What?!" the youngest called back but didn't stop running.

"I don't have a swimming suit!" Anna came to an abrupt halt, causing Elsa to swerve out of the way to avoid colliding with her.

"Oh." She thought a while and perked up again. "I have a plan, don't worry!"

Elsa groaned when Anna grabbed her hand and took off down the hall again, but she couldn't help the smile forming on her lips.

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" _This_ was your idea?"

"What? It's a great idea – genius if you ask me."

"Why can't I just _make_ a swimming suit? You know, from my ice powers? I make dresses all the time I'm sure a thing to swim in won't be that different."

Anna rolled her eyes, tapping her foot as her sister tried on the swim suit behind a changing curtain. They were in one of Oaken's fast growing franchises. What once had been a cart named _Oaken's Cloakens_ , was now a fully furbished _shop_ called…by the same name. Oaken wasn't really that creative. But it was stocked with everything and anything the man could think of. Anna still had to try his homemade sun balm; maybe she could try it today? Work on her tan a little bit?

"You do realise," Anna called, when Elsa grunted behind the curtain, "that it will most probably melt in the water as soon as you go in?"

"I can just make it so that it doesn't melt."

"And risk freezing the water around you to do so?" Anna quirked an eyebrow at her sister's 'logic'.

"I-I'll make the ice warmer…?" Came Elsa's timid response.

Usually Elsa almost never acted irrationally. Anna had noticed over the years that she acts unreasonably when she's afraid of something. Could she be afraid of the water somehow?

"Els," Anna took a step closer to the curtain, "Are you worried…about swimming?"

"What?" she scoffed, but it sounded forced, "Noooo."

"You know, Kristoff and I are pretty good swimmers, even Sven will be swimming with us. You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid…where is Kristoff anyway? I don't want him to see me in this…"

"He took the sled with Sven and the twins to prepare the lake for our arrival." She crossed her arms and smirked, "You do realise that he is going to see you in that suit, right? He's family anyway. Besides Kristen and I even have our own that looks similar to yours, it's a green one for me and a purple one for her."

She didn't answer.

"It'll be just the six of us, including Sven. It's a pretty secluded and private lake." She leaned against a nearby wall and waited for her sister to finish getting dressed. "You need any help?"

"No, I'm-I'm alright…I guess…" after a moment's silence, Elsa asked, "It there anyone besides you out there?"

"Nope." Anna popped the 'p', "Just me."

"Okay…"

Elsa emerged wearing a blue one suit that reached her mid-thighs like shorts. The straps were large over her shoulders, decorated with a crocus and rosemaling pattern in horizontal stripes. The suit hugged her figure perfectly and didn't ride up when she took a few steps out from the changing curtain. She waited with baited breath at her sister's reaction while tugging the bottom part lower down her thighs.

"It's so small…" Elsa said, voice timid and uncertain, "Is it supposed to be like this?"

"Yes, yes it is – you look good Elsa." Anna beamed in approval, "You'd make anything look good."

"Thank you, Anna." Elsa blushed, and turned back to regard herself in the mirror that was placed next to the curtain. "Why is it so tight, though?"

"If it's not, the material can weigh you down when it gets wet." Anna stood next to her sister, she squealed suddenly. "We're all gonna match! Oh, this is gonna be _so fun_!"

"Speaking of…" Elsa turned to her bouncing sister, "Where's yours?"

"Already wearing it."

"Wait what? When did you put it on?"

"Before I came to fetch you."

"So you knew I'd come with you?" She quirked her eyebrow.

"I was planning on dragging you out by your cape if I had to." Anna answered easily, turning to walk to where Oaken sat, so that she could pay for their purchases. Maybe a little sun balm is exactly what the doctor ordered for today.

"Anna, wait!"

The redhead paused and looked at Elsa over her shoulder, "Hmm?"

"I can't go out looking like _this!_ "

"Just remake what you wore on the way here." Anna turned back and continued on to her destination, "Actually, make it more comfy. We're gonna ride our horses."

"Of course we are…" Elsa rolled her eyes, and conjured another ice dress to cover herself up.

When the Queen walked out, fully dressed in a modified version of her favourite ice dressthat she had been wearing, this one had riding trousers, she saw that Anna was making small talk with Oaken while she payed, sniffing a bottle she had opened.

"It smells wonderful." Anna said when Elsa joined them.

"Ja, ja, eet's real good." the humongous man beamed, moustache lengthening with his smile when he placed her change on the counter. "Zat's ze crushed reinroze you are smelling, Princez."

"Can't wait to try it!" she corked the bottle and pocketed the change. "Thanks Oaken. See ya around!"

"Bye-bye! Enjoy ze swim, Majesty." He gave a friendly wave as they left.

The bell chimed and cut off when the door closed, bathing the sister's in the sounds and heat of a bustling port town. Merchants shouted their goods and wares; the harbour bell rang in the distance announcing another approaching ship. Children laughed and ran about with ice cream, waving at their royals. It was a beautiful - extremely hot - day. Elsa could understand why her sister wanted to go swimming so badly.

"I hope I don't regret this…" Elsa muttered through a smile at her people.

"It won't be so bad," Anna nudged her with her shoulder, "I'll bet you'll even enjoy this." she preened, challenging.

"Is that so?"

"Yup!" she bounced as they walked to the royal stables on the castle grounds, "I'll even put my secret chocolate stash on the line."

Elsa raised her eyebrow, a smirk tugging her lips "You're on.

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 **The next installment will come up as soon as possible :3**


	2. Chapter 2

The ride to Lake Freyja was shorter than Elsa had anticipated; it had gone through the forest away from the main road. They could hear splashes and the twinkle of a child's laughter before they could see the lake. The sisters trotted their horses through the brush and Elsa's breath caught when they emerged.

The lake was a pure crystalline blue that reflected the mountains behind it like a mirror. It was huge! It looked like a miniature ocean had been trapped by the mountains surrounding it. The forest encircled the lake; they stood like sentinels on the outskirts, proud and evergreen. Boulders lay strewn about on the shore, with pebbles of various sizes acting as the beach. Some boulders were situated in the perfect way, halfway out or completely in the water. They were great vantage points for someone to jump off of into the water.

In fact someone _was_ jumping off of those boulders. Or was going to anyway.

Anders stood, crouching on the smallest rock wearing a dark green swimming suite that had sleeves that covered his shoulders. Kristoff stood below him wearing a dark grey suit similar to his son's, chest deep in water encouraging him to _jump_. Elsa had to stifle the urge to shout for him not to. They must've been doing that since they arrived. Indeed, it looked like all they had done when they got here was unhook Sven and jumped into the water. Of course Sven had followed them in, and was even encouraging the little boy to jump as only he could.

Anders' grin could be seen from the brush where the sisters had to hobble the horses close to the sled. Close enough to the beach and to grass and shade for their animals. Anders jumped, Elsa felt her heart jump with him, and landed in his father's arms making a big splash as he did so. Laughter echoed from both of them.

"Hey guys!" Anna called happily, waving like a maniac.

"Mama! Aunty Elsa!" Anders wriggled in his father's grasp and _fell_ into the water with a plop, going under.

" _Anders_!" Elsa cried in a panic. Anna held her back just as his head popped out from under the water and he began to swim towards them.

"See," Anna released her sister's arm, turning to unload the sled, "he's fine."

"Where's Kristen?"

"Probably climbing the – _there_ she is."

Elsa watched with mounting dread as Kristen took the place her brother had occupied on the boulder mere moments before. She waved at them much the same way Anna had earlier and jumped straight into Kristoff's awaiting arms.

"They're fine. Stop worrying, would ya?"

"Hmm…" Elsa didn't trust her voice. A wave of adrenaline and ice had rushed through her when she had watched them jump. Especially Kristen with her red hair and Anna-like character... It reminded her of the time Anna had jumped form the snowdrifts she had made when they were little.

"A lil – ugh – a lil help, please!" Anna grunted behind her.

Elsa glanced away from Anders already making his way over the pebble beach to see that Anna wasn't in any real need of help. She was just overloading herself because she didn't want to make more than one trip from the sled. The youngest huffed when her sister kneeled to grab her nephew in a big hug. She placed her bundle back on the sled and leaned against it watching her sister and son fondly.

Anders released her now slightly wet sister and skipped towards his mother; Anna kneeled and hugged him too.

"Oh, you're so cool." She hummed, hugging him closer.

"Yeah! The water's really great, you guys should come in!"

She released him, now slightly wet as well, and stood up to smooth the red hair plastered to his forehead. Then he started tugging on her and Elsa's hands with enthusiasm.

"Come on! Come on! Come _on_!" he struggled to get his mother and unmoving aunt towards the lake.

"Hold up there, kiddo." Kristoff said, walking towards them with Kristen in his arms. "Let's help them unpack first."

"Aww! But –"

"No buts. The lake's not going anywhere."

"We'll make it a game, alright?" Anna suggested as Kristoff placed Kristen down.

"A game?! I wanna play too!" Kristen gave Elsa's knees a quick hug and bounced toward her brother and mother.

"Alright," Anna kneeled before them, looking around in thought. "first one toooo…clear a spot of pebbles for the blanket is the winner."

"Okay!" They jumped on the balls of his feet, eager.

"Is it just gonna be me and Kristie?" Anders asked.

"How 'bout Aunty Elsa joins you?" Anna proposed, she stood straight and looked at her sister.

Elsa stood staring at the lake with her back to her family. She had made no move to acknowledge that she had heard what Anna had said. Anna frowned when Kristen touched Elsa's arm causing her to flinch the tiniest bit. To a normal person, it barely looked like a flinch. But Anna knew her sister well enough to see the little things that made her tick.

She smacked her husband on his upper arm to get his attention. He paused his scrutiny of the sled to frown at her. When he opened his mouth to retort, he closed it when she gestured to her sister.

Elsa's posture was rigid while Anders and Kristen were waving their arms towards the pebbles with obvious excitement. When Elsa smiled, Anna knew she didn't want to partake in the game she had suggested, so before her sister could refuse, Anna stepped towards them.

"Kids," she called, drawing their immediate attention. Their doe brown eyes locked with hers. "Wha'd'you say about going up against me?" she spared Elsa a glance and saw her relief, "I bet I'd get more rocks out of the way than you two together."

"You're on, mama!" they took off towards the beach where the pebbles would be the smallest.

Anna followed at a slower pace, throwing Kristoff a raised eyebrow. He nodded his understanding at her silent command, and she smiled at Elsa before leaving them with the sled. As casually as a reindeer making his way across a frozen fjord, Kristoff tried to make small talk.

"Sooo," he rummaged through the sled, getting the blanket and basket out. "Nice place here, this? Wait what?"

"It's beautiful." Elsa's gaze swept the mountains and mirror, flitting over her family.

"Yeap," he cleared his throat, "Found it while ice harvesting one time, brought Anna here sometime after that….and yeah, been comin' here ever since.."

Elsa hummed her response.

Kristoff sighed. He always had been more of a straight forward man, "Are you alright?"

Elsa stood tall and said, "I'm fine."

"Sure you are, and I'm a flying reindeer with a red nose called Rudolph." He deadpanned, looking straight at her.

"It-it's nothing," she moved to hold the blanket in her hands, "I'll be fine."

"Elsa."

She didn't respond except to look down at the ground and rub her thumbs across the blanket.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just nervous about the swimming." She answered too quickly; he narrowed his eyes when she looked at him. "I _am_."

"That might be true," he grunted, hefting the huge picnic basket out of his sled, "But that's not the only reason. You don't have to tell me, I can't make you do anything. But just know that we are here for you. And we're not that easily fooled." He stepped up to her, "We love you and we can see when you're hurting."

Elsa turned to look out to where her sister, niece, and nephew were scrambling to clear a big space for their picnic. Even Sven was helping by clearing the site with his antlers. Elsa hugged the blanket tightly.

"They…the twins…well, _Kristen_ just reminds me of Anna when she was little…" she drew in a shuddering breath, "it's been two decades since the first accident…but," she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "I guess I still freeze up every now and then."

"In that case," he smiled at her, a warm and loving smile. "let's go and thaw you."

He turned form her and made his way towards the other half of his family, basket held by his two thick arms.

"Jeeze, Anna!" he called, stumbling over the pebbles, "What did you put in here?!"

"I think the proper question is: what _didn't_ I put in there!" Anna called back with a smirk.

Sven bounded towards the struggling man, baying for a carrot. Kristoff managed to shove his shout away from the basket as he reached his wife and son.

"Aunty El-sa!" Anders cried, looking up.

"Are you coming!?" Kristen finished his sentence.

The woman smiled and walked out from the shadows of the forest towards her family in the sun.

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 **Heh...so yeah, this...this took way longer than I thought it would.**

 **It's been over a year (facepalm) I'm so sorry, life and university, and life kept getting in the way. My inspiration all but died a bit. I'm not so sure if I'm completely back yet but here is the next chapter. This one was already written, the one after this is kinda already written, doesn't really have an ending yet. But yeah, heh.**

 **I'm super thankful for those who reviewed and followed this 3 I hope it doesn't** **disappoint :)**


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